Council Challenger Shade Picks Up More Early Endorsements

Place 3 City Council Challenger Candidate Randi Shade Endorsed This Week By North-By-Northwest Democrats, Stonewall Democrats, and Austin Lesbian / Gay Political Caucus

Austin, Texas - Austin City Council Place 3 challenger candidate Randi Shade announced today that her campaign has received the endorsement of three new groups. Shade said the North-By-Northwest Democrats, Stonewall Democrats, and the Austin Lesbian / Gay Political Caucus each voted this week to throw their support behind her campaign against incumbent Jennifer Kim.

“I’m honored and excited to be supported by these three great progressive groups, and look forward to working with them to win this election in May,” said Shade. “With the support of a broad coalition of Austinites representing every part of our community, I know we can pull off this victory against the well-known, well-financed incumbent and help make Austin City Hall more responsive and accountable.”

Jan Soifer, President of the North-By-Northwest Democrats club, said Shade’s impressive community history and clear vision for the future of Austin persuaded the members of her club to back the Council challenger. “Randi Shade has a strong record of community leadership, a long history of involvement in the Democratic Party, and a compelling, progressive vision for Austin,” said Soifer. “She will make a great addition to the Austin City Council.”

Frank Genco, Co-Chair of the Austin Lesbian / Gay Political Caucus (ALGPC), said Shade was the best candidate in the Place 3 race. “ALGPC is supporting Randi Shade because we believe she will bring a fresh new approach and a different attitude to the City Council,” said Genco. 

“We need a responsive, accessible leader in every seat on the City Council.  Randi Shade has been a leader in the Austin community, and we believe her leadership can and will make a difference at City Hall.”

Last month Shade’s candidacy was endorsed by the three labor unions representing Austin’s public safety workers: the Austin Police Association, the Austin Firefighters Association, and the Austin / Travis County EMS Employees Association.

Randi Shade, 41, is running for Austin City Council Place 3. She has lived in Austin for more than 18 years, working in the public, private and nonprofit sector.  Randi has served as the Executive Director of the Austin Entrepreneurs Foundation, and as CEO of Charitygift, an Internet company she founded in 1999 and sold to a publicly traded company in 2005.  Randi’s career in public service includes four years in the Governor’s Office (1992 – 1996) as the founding Executive Director of the Texas Commission on Volunteerism & Community Service, during which time she launched and managed the AmeriCorps program statewide. Under Randi’s leadership Texas was awarded more money than any other state ($55 million). Randi also worked as a fundraising coordinator on the successful 1990 Ann Richards gubernatorial campaign and has also previously worked for City Year, Teach for America, and Procter & Gamble.  She is a Plan II Honors graduate of the University of Texas, where she was elected to serve as student body president.  Randi later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School.  Randi has always been an active community volunteer and has served on the boards of the Association of Women in Technology – Austin, Austin Clean Energy Initiative, Austin Entrepreneurs Foundation, Central Texas Better Business Bureau, Foundation for Women’s Resources Committee of the Board, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Austin, OneStar Foundation, PeopleFund, Sigma Delta Tau Sorority’s Texas Education Foundation, TexChange, Texas Hillel Foundation, UT Commission on 125, and the Volunteer Center (now Hands on Central Texas). Randi and her partner, Kayla Shell, an attorney and Dell executive, live in the Clarksville neighborhood and are the proud parents of a toddler son named Ethan.